Uncategorized5 min(s) read
Bombshell study warns hidden risks of medicinal marijuana outweigh benefits as Trump considers law change
Experts are warning that medicinal marijuana may not be as safe as some people believe - and a new study has shown the risks could even outweigh any benefits.
The debate over the legalization of marijuana has raged for many years, with many people being advocates of its use for medicinal purposes, especially to treat pain.
However, a bombshell new study has found "insufficient evidence" to back up most of the perceived benefits, and has raised some serious concerns about hidden risks of use.
Dr. Michael Hsu, an addiction psychiatrist at UCLA and lead author of the study, said in a statement per the New York Post: "Patients deserve honest conversations about what the science does and doesn’t tell us about medical cannabis."
.jpg_jnzv6A?tr=cr-0.0.2121.1414,f-webp,q-75)
Medicinal cannabis is legal in 40 states and the majority of US citizens said they supported its use when prescribed by a doctor in a recent poll, with many using it to manage chronic pain, anxiety, insomnia, and other health issues.
Medical cannabis is now legal in 40 states and DC, and nearly 9 in 10 US adults say they support using it when prescribed by a doctor.
Hsu added: "While many people turn to cannabis seeking relief, our review highlights significant gaps between public perception and scientific evidence regarding its effectiveness for most medical conditions."
Hsu and his team analyzed more than 2,500 scientific papers published between January 2010 and September 2025 to compare medical cannabis sold at dispensaries with pharmaceutical-grade cannabinoids - the FDA-approved drugs containing either THC, a psychoactive compound, or CBD, which doesn’t cause a high - and found that those medications did help to ease chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, as well as helping patients with HIV/AIDS-related appetite loss to gain weight, and aided certain severe pediatric seizure disorders.
However, despite over half of users turning to it for acute pain, the research team found no solid clinical evidence that it is effective, and that research on whether medicinal cannabis was effective for insomnia, anxiety, PTSD, Parkinson’s disease, and rheumatoid arthritis was weak or inconclusive at best.
Current guidelines also do not recommend cannabis-based treatments as a starting option for pain management.
Despite the benefits being negligible in many cases, the risks of marijuana use were much more clear cut.
Long-term studies suggested a correlation between adolescents that used high-potency cannabis facing higher rates of psychotic symptoms, with 12.4% affected compared with 7.1% of those using low-potency products.
They also found that they were more likely to develop generalized anxiety disorder, with 19.1% experiencing it compared to 11.6% of those that had used weaker cannabis.
The research also showed that around 29% of medical cannabis users also met the criteria for cannabis use disorder - a complex psychiatric condition which is signified by increased tolerance to cannabis, a compulsion to use it, as well as withdrawals when the drug is stopped.
The risk is four to seven time higher among people who start using before the age of 18 compared to adults, and it primarily involves products containing THC.
The study also found that the daily use of medical cannabis, especially high potency or inhaled products, could increase the risk of cardiovascular problems compared with occasional use, heightening the chance of heart attacks, strokes, and coronary artery disease.
Hsu and his colleagues have thus recommended that patients be screened for cardiovascular disease and psychotic disorders before doctors prescribe any products containing THC, as well a urging doctors to consider potential drug interactions and whether the benefits would outweigh the harm before prescribing medicinal marijuana.
.jpg_9MdBvK?tr=cr-0.0.1024.768,f-webp,q-75)
Hsu added: "Clear guidance from clinicians is essential to support safe, evidence-based decision-making when discussing medical cannabis with their patients."
While the findings may be concerning, the researchers did acknowledge several limitations to their study, noting that it was not a systematic review and didn’t include a formal risk-of-bias assessment, as well as the fact much of it was observational and could therefore have been affected by other factors.
The variation in the cannabis products themselves, participants, and the study design could also have affected the outcomes.
Hsu added: "Further research is crucial to better understand the potential benefits and risks of medical cannabis.
"By supporting more rigorous studies, we can provide clearer guidance and improve clinical care for patients.”
The latest findings come amid speculation that President Donald Trump could soon reclassify cannabis under federal law.
Besides the FDA-approved prescription medications, cannabis is still listed as a Schedule I drug, putting it in the same category as LSD and heroin.
However, new reports suggest that Trump may move it to a Schedule III drug, a lower ranking which would class it as less dangerous and acceptable for medical use.